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Dateline ACTSouth & south east Asia/Indonesia 08/05Loans to women tsunami survivors pay quick dividendsBy Emily Will, Mennonite Central CommitteeBanda Aceh, Indonesia, April 22, 2005—YAKKUM Emergency Unit (YEU), a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, is discovering that small loans to women tsunami survivors are paying remarkable dividends—and quickly—to recipients and their families. Murniati, her husband, Yusri, and their four surviving children live in a tiny, makeshift house in the Kayu Jati camp for displaced people, located about an hour west of the city of Banda Aceh. They used to own two homes on the coast and lived comfortably on the earnings of Murniati’s catering business and Yusri’s income as an employee in an ice factory. On the morning of Dec. 26, 2004, Murniati, 36, and her 15-year-old daughter, Lia Kumalasan, were snatched by the fierce waves created by a 9.0-on-the-Richter-scale quake in the nearby Indian Ocean. After the first wave dashed them about, Murniati lost sight of her daughter. Murniati clung to a piece of Styrofoam and spent three hours bobbing at sea before being rescued. Later that day the family found Lia’s body. Yusri and the couple’s other four children—three sons ages 20, 17 and 10, and a 12-year-old daughter—had escaped the tsunami by running to nearby hills. Now Murniati’s love of cooking for others helps keep her mind off that awful day and the loss of a daughter who was a steadfast companion and helper. With a loan of 3 million Rupiah (about US$300) from a YEU-sponsored credit union, Murniati is back in business. Murniati is among the 63 women who joined the credit union in her camp; they named it Bungong Selanga, for the ylang-ylang tree, whose sweet-scented flowers are often used in perfume. It is one of four women’s credit unions that Natalia “Lia” Caw, area manager of the YEU Banda Aceh unit, initiated for survivors of Lamreh village. Each group has named a leadership team of president, treasurer and secretary. Over the next year, Lia will provide extensive training in financial and organizational management to both officers and members. Murniati, who is repaying her loan in monthly installments each the equivalent of about US$28, earns a profit of about US$50 per month. Because her husband no longer has work—the ice factory was destroyed in the tsunami—he helps her with the catering business. He will also receive a small loan from a men’s credit union, and hopes to build a small roadside food stand with it. Murniati’s prime customers are the soldiers overrunning the area, part of the Indonesian government’s effort to suppress a secessionist movement. About 30 soldiers come to eat her cooking morning, noon and night. (Just a taste of a delectable fish dish—in which flavors of fresh tomatoes, herbs, and spicy chili peppers mingle harmoniously—is all it takes to understand why folks line up for her cooking.) From a spacious, well-stocked, well-supplied kitchen with a paid employee to cramped quarters without cupboards and just two single-burner gas stoves, the couple is starting all over again. When Murniati expresses frustration, Yusri, 48, encourages patience. “We’re used to working hard, and at least we’re back building our own business,” he says. Like many Acehnese, the couple is proud and independent and reluctant to accept handouts. The amount of money loaned, either US$200 or $300 per member, depending on the type and size of the enterprise, is a second factor in successful business creation. While not much by North American or European standards, it is significant for small businesses here. “Any less probably would not make a difference,” Lia remarks. Since the tsunami, women’s ability to earn income is more vital than ever. Those who have lost husbands need to become breadwinners. And all want to help rebuild the family’s economic base after the material losses—home, possessions—incurred. Mardiah and her husband, M. Jamal, are another couple from the Kayu Jati camp who have started over from scratch. Each received the equivalent of about US$300 from their respective YEU-sponsored credit unions; they pooled their loans to clean, repair and restock their small shop. With the capital, they purchased new display racks and shelves. They also returned to their living quarters above the store. A month later, by early April, they were selling at least US$50 of merchandise daily—snacks, basic groceries and cosmetics, and a range of household goods, from plastic containers to fine china. Their average profit is 10 percent—$5 of every $50 sold. They hope to eventually get back to seven, not just four, racks of inventory, and to be able to offer goods to customers on credit, as they used to. The couple has four children, ages 17, 13, 7 and 2, all of whom survived the tsunami. One of Mardiah’s sisters, however, perished along with her three young children. Focusing on rebuilding the store keeps her from dwelling on her losses, Mardiah says. She’s grateful for the credit union loan that has made it possible. “I knew they would recover quickly, but I didn’t imagine it would be this quickly!” exclaims Lia after a recent visit to the two couples. YEU—YAKKUM Emergency Unit—teams were formed in 2001 by parent organization YAKKUM, a Christian foundation for public health established by two synods of the Indonesian and Javanese churches in 1950. Other ACT members in Indonesia responding to the disaster in the country are:
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